Yeovil Town are back in SkyBet Championship action this Tuesday night and the magnitude of the match is lost on nobody as the Glovers travel to Charlton Athletic.
The Addicks sit one place outside the relegation zone just three points above Yeovil who are still bottom of the pack, in 24th.
An away win, would see the Glovers join Charlton on 38 points, with a three goal swing in the process, Yeovil could even leapfrog their rivals by the time the full time whistle blows at the Valley.
Yeovil are coming into the game off the back of a brilliant away win at struggling Blackpool. The 2-1 victory on Saturday was sealed with a James Hayter penalty and Tom Lawrence’s first goal in green and white.
That result helped bury the memory of the 4-1 drubbing at the hands of Barnsley seven days earlier.
The hosts on the other hand had a slightly less productive weekend, Charlton succumbed to a late goal from Reading as they looked to continue their decent run of form.
Wins against Leeds and Nottingham Forest have been backed up with positive results against Bournemouth, Millwall and Huddersfield in recent weeks.
Charlton still have more games than anyone else to play in the SkyBet Championship, they’re FA Cup exploits have ensured they don’t have another free fixture date for the remainder of the season.
Since the sides last met there have been some major changes in personnel in the management at Charlton. Chris Powell has vacated the manager’s office and has been replaced by Jose Riga, the former Standard Liege coach.
One of Riga’s first additions to the playing staff was none other than former Glovers’ loanee Jon Obika.
Also in attack, Davide Petrucci has joined from Manchester United. Hopefully Tom Lawrence will have given the Glovers defenders a heads up on what to expect from his Old Trafford colleague.
For Yeovil, it remains to be seen if Marek Stech will have recovered significantly from illness to take his place in the match day squad again.
If not, Chris Dunn, who once again impressed on his return to the starting line-up, will be back in between the sticks.
Up front for the Glovers the new pairing of Hayter and Lawrence will be hoping to retain their place with Ishmael Miller no longer available for selection.
The return to the bench of Reuben Palazuelos was also a boost to Gary Johnson giving the Glovers an extra option in midfield.
Last time the sides met they played out a dramatic 2-2 draw at Huish Park, Ishmael Miller converting a penalty to complete a comeback from 2-0 down at half time.
The two teams have crossed paths a number of times before, most recently in the 2011/12 season. That year the Addicks secured a double over Yeovil, a 3-0 and 3-2 victory for the Reds.
In fact, prior to this season, Charlton have won no fewer than five meetings in a row between the sides.
Yeovil got a result back in 2009, a 1-1 draw with a certain Jon Obika scoring for the Glovers.
Their last win was further back again, in 2008 a Paul Warne goal secured a shock win in the Carling Cup.
But all that is in the past and it’s the three points on offer this Tuesday which will act as enough incentive.
With supporters keeping their eyes on events elsewhere, this set of midweek fixtures sees every second tier side in action and a number of big games at the bottom of the table.
Barnsley host high flying Burnley, Millwall travel to in form Wigan, Blackpool face big scoring Derby and Doncaster face a resurgent Bolton side.
If Yeovil can secure their points then a set of decent results elsewhere will have #MissionSurvival right back on track and the belief will fill Huish Park again.
Speaking of Huish Park, these consecutive away days mean that the focus switches back to Somerset this Saturday as Bournemouth are in town.
Tickets for this local derby are available and Gary Johnson is hoping for another big atmosphere from the Green and White faithful.
Call the ticket office, pop down in person or follow the instructions on YTFC.net to secure your place.
Back to Tuesday’s game and tickets for the fixture are available on the day, but local radio will be supplying the feed to Glovers Player and the YouTube channel will cover all the post-match reaction.
Famous Charlton Fans.
Tennis star, Bjorn Borg. Big Break Presenter Jim Davidson, Snooker Champion Steve Davis, Man Behaving Badly star Neil Morrisey and Olympic Medallist Kelly Holmes.
A Foot in Both Camps.
Ben Roberts, Jordan Cook, Simon Church, Cameron Stewart, Nathan Jones, Dan Seaborne, Martin Cranie, Kim Grant, Kelly Youga, Jon Obika, Dean Parrett, and the second top scorer in Yeovil’s history, Dick Plumb
